Child of Chaldea
by Fyr3Flyt3
Summary: Humanity is lost and only one hope remains: Chaldea. It stands as the last bastion of humanity, gathering the greatest heroes throughout time and beyond to take back what was lost. At the helm is their Master, the Hero of Heroes, the Saviour of Humanity, and receiver of top marks in English for her 2nd-grade class. (Child!Gudako/Ritsuka)(Spoilers for FGO up to Salomon)
1. Pain

**Pain**

Having grown up entirely in the Chaldea Facility, Mashu had never met another child before. She knew about children and had seen them in pictures from workers when they talked about her family, but she never met one. The closest she got was Olga-Marie Animusphere, the current Director of Chaldea, and she was as far from a child as anyone could get. Perhaps Roman would be a better comparison, but even he had moments of maturity. That made the little girl she found in the hallway the first child Mashu ever met and the cutest

The girl looked like an angel, curled up on the floor, snoring softly while she cuddled Fou like a teddy bear. Her bright orange hair, tied into a side ponytail with a strange cowlick on the other side, clashed with his white fur and the white uniform she wore with black leggings. Mashu didn't know they had Mystic Codes that size, but she wasn't going to complain, it looked adorable, though the shirt looked more like a skirt on her and the boots were a bit too big.

Fou poked his head up from the girl's arms, calling over to Mashu. Despite the softness of them, the short barks woke the girl from her slumber. She sat up, still cradling Fou and rubbing the sleep from her amber eyes. It took a moment before she registered Mashu, screaming in surprise of the unfamiliar woman. Mashu cracked a smile and the girl blushed.

"It's neither morning nor night right now…." Mashu froze. She had never addressed someone who was younger than her before. From birth, she had always been taught to address people with respect, including titles. Olga-Marie was Director Olga-Marie or simply Director. The Professor was the Professor. Roman, despite Mashu having very little actual respect for him, was Dr. Roman. This was a strange experience for Mashu. Not adding some sort of respectful title felt wrong. "That means it's time to wake up."

"Oh," the girl said. Her voice was soft and bell-like, filling Mashu with an unfamiliar warmth and urge to hug the little girl. Had she sounded like that when she was younger? The child rose to her feet and looked around while Fou fell from her grip, scampering over to Mashu and leaping onto her shoulder. Confusion clouded the girl's eyes. "Where's Papa?"

Papa. Mashu knew that word referred to a male paternal figure but she had no real experience with it herself. Roman was as paternal as a sack of puppies and Maris-Billy was gone not long after she was born, but that wasn't important. Why was this little girl looking for her Papa? In fact, why was this little girl even here? Had her Papa brought her here? That would mean he was either a new technician or one of the 48 Masters that had recently arrived. But why had he brought his daughter with him and where did she get that uniform and how had she been allowed in and why did Mashu feel like squeezing her cheeks?

"Who are you?"

"Oh." Mashu was caught off guard by the sudden question. "I'm Mashu Kyrielight." Mashu was caught off guard by how easily the answer came. Usually, she would've been more reserved and cryptic around an unfamiliar person, yet she answered the child without a second of hesitation. Strange. "Um..Miss, may I ask a question? Why were you sleeping on the cold, hard floor?" Miss would work for now.

"Because it's like home." She said as if it explained everything. To Mashu, it sort of did. It was hard to tell from the girl's appearance, but her accent gave her away as Japanese, meaning she was probably used to the hard mats they slept on. At least, that's what her books had told her. The girl trotted closer to Mashu, looking at her with innocent curiosity. Fou stared back, barking back at her. The girl giggled. "He's a weird squirrel. He barks and he's fluffy."

"This is Fou. He is a Privileged Life-Form allowed to roam the halls of Chaldea. I was looking for him when I found you on the floor." Fou lept from Mashu's shoulder and onto the girl's head, nesting in her hair much to her amusement "And it seems he likes you. He doesn't usually go near other people."

The girl scratched Fou's cheek, making the mysterious creature purr. Mashu was about to get onto asking the little girl for her name when someone came around the corner. Professor Leff Lynor, head technician of Chaldea. He wore his usual evergreen suit and top hat, eyes squinted with a warm smile on his lips as he approached Mashu.

"There you are, Mashu. That won't do, you know, wandering around the facility without permission.." Leff slowed to a stop as he noticed the little girl in front of Mashu. "Oh, hello, little one. You must be the child I was hearing about, Mr. Fujimaru's daughter."

That answered Mashu's question about the girl's origin and confirmed her Japanese theory. The girl's face brightened at the mention of her father, hopping over to Lynor and looking up at him.

"You know where Papa is?!"

Leff chuckled and nodded. "Of course. He's currently at orientation with the new Masters and our dear Director. I should be there too, soon enough. I'm Leff Lynor, one of the technicians that will be working with your father. It's nice to meet you, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka gasped. "You know my name?"

Lynor smiled. "Of course. I was the one that convinced our dear Director to let you accompany your father until other arrangements could be made. I'm glad that I finally get to meet you. I hope you're enjoying Chaldea." Mashu looked at the Professor curiously. She hadn't known about Ritsuka beforehand. Usually, she was told about everything in the facility. Strange…

"Mashu, have you been watching Ritsuka all this time?"

"No, Professor, I just found her sleeping here while I was looking for Fou." Leff raised an eyebrow.

"Sleeping? Here, in the hallway? That's strange." He mulled the thought over for a moment and nodded. "Perhaps our little guest is in need of a nap after her long trip." On cue, Ritsuka yawned cutely, smacking her lips and rubbing her eye. It took a lot of willpower for Mashu not to aww.

"Mashu," the professor turned to her, "please take Ritsuka to her father's room. You'll find it not far from the infirmary, Room 0525. Do try and hurry, the Director will want you at the orientation as well to see the first test of the Rayshifting." With that, the professor said his goodbyes and walked off down the winding corridor, leaving Mashu with Ritsuka. The lavender-haired Designed Human smiled at the little girl and took her hand as they started walking towards the infirmary.

* * *

The walk to Ritsuka's room was rather informative for Mashu, both about the girl herself and about children in general. The first thing about children was that they could talk a lot. It felt harsh to call it blathering, but that's basically what Ritsuka did the entire way, going on and on about her home and her father. Mashu found it interesting, but it was hard to keep up with the onslaught of information.

What she learned about the Ritsuka family was that it was small, consisting only of Mr. Fujimaru and his eight-year-old daughter, living in a small apartment in Japan. Mr. Fujimaru was not a traditional Magus, working during the day as a grocer while his daughter attended elementary school. Mr. Fujimaru wasn't a particularly good Magus either, only knowing basic spells and understanding very few concepts about actual magecraft. Still, he passed on this knowledge to Ritsuka and she absorbed it like a sponge. The girl bragged about how proud her Papa was and how they went out for ice cream to celebrate her first successful spell, a simple healing on a cut on Mr. Fujimaru's hand.

When Mashu asked about Ritsuka's mother, she learned her second lesson about children, they were easily distracted. Just as she was about to answer, a group of technicians passed by in a hurry and captured Ritsuka's attention. Suddenly, the subject changed from Ritsuka's family to the purpose of Chaldea. Mashu wasn't sure how much of the explanation Ritsuka actually understood, though, as she soon became more interested in playing with Fou's fur than the mission to preserve humanity.

Despite this, Mashu found herself enjoying Ritsuka's presence. It was new and exciting and gave her strange feelings. Not bad ones, just ones she didn't fully understand. A sense of protectiveness of the little girl and an even stronger urge to pick her up and squeeze her till she popped. She resisted it but barely. It was odd to have such intense feelings for someone she just met. Everything involving Ritsuka was odd, but Mashu didn't mind.

"This should be your room, Miss Ritsuka." They stopped in front of a door that looked like every other door in Chaldea, numbered "0525", not far from the greed-marked door to the infirmary. "The door should be open."

Mashu pushed the keypad and the door slid open, surprised to find the light was already on. She was even more surprised to find the resident doctor sleeping in the bed, his laptop sitting on his chest, playing the tunes from that ridiculous blog he loved so much. Mashu let out a sharp cough, waking the peach-haired doctor.

"I wasn't sleeping!" Mashu looked at him distastefully while Ritsuka laughed, surprising the doctor. "Uh, Mashu, where did you get a little girl? Are you trying to tell me something? Gasp! Is she your-"

"This is Fujimaru Ritsuka, the daughter of one of the new Masters." Mashu cut him off quickly. She did not have time for his silliness. "This is her and her father's room."

"Oh!" Roman shot up off the bed and slammed his laptop closed, chuckling sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to get a little rest before the test, ya know? Hehehehehuh?" Ritsuka tugged on Roman's shirt, pointing up at his face. Crouching down to her level, Ritsuka grabbed a fistful of Roman's hair, stroking it and twirling it around her fingers. She let out a small gasp of amazement

"It's so soft and pink~"

"Um, yeah, that's my hair. Do you like it?" Ritsuka nodded. "Then thank you, I do a lot of work to keep it like this. I have to use this shampoo that Da Vinci made to keep it nice and fluffy. It's pretty great cause it smells like strawberries and fizzes on my head. Then I have to spend an hour brushing it out and making sure nothing is-"

"Dr. Roman," Mashu cut him off, "can I leave Ritsuka with you in here? The Director wanted me at the Orientation and it's starting soon." The way she stood outside the door gave the impression that her request wasn't a request.

"Doesn't the Director want me there too?"

Mashu gave him a stern look.

"Yeah, I figured. Sure, she can stay with me if she wants to. What do you say Ritsuka?"

"Mm!" She nodded, "I'll stay and wait for Papa. Me and Dr. Romi can play 'till then."

"Ok." Mashu bowed respectfully. "I'll come back and see you later. Goodbye, Miss Ritsuka."

"Bye, Ma-chan!" The door closed in front of the blushing Mashu while Ritsuka waved her off. Roman gave her a curious look. He had helped care for Mashu since she was first created and practically raised her and he had never seen her act so openly with another person, yet here she was bonding with a child so easily. Strange. However, there was something even stranger.

"Dr. Romi?"

* * *

Roman eventually submitted to the childish nickname. It seemed Ritsuka gave everyone a nickname. Mashu was Ma-chan, Professor Lynor was Mr. Top Hat , and Fou was Fou, she couldn't figure out a nickname for him. With Mr. Top Hat as an option, Roman was willing to deal with 'Dr. Romi.'

He was also willing to deal with playing with her. Playing with children was something he hadn't had much recent experience and was sort of refreshing. Mashu was never much for playing when she was younger and Olga-Marie had been cold to him since she was a child. So, playing with Ritsuka was fun, if not a little unusual.

"Hit me." Fou pushed over the poker card and Ritsuka snatched it up. Her face belied no emotion as she slid it in with the rest of her hand and stuck him with a cold gaze. "Your turn."

Roman gulped. Never in his life did he ever expect to fear playing Blackjack with an eight-year-old, but life loved throwing him for a loop. He had a four and a ten in hand. All he needed was a seven or less and he might-keyword being might-win this. Anything more and he would lose for the fifth time, and this time, he wouldn't be able to push of their bet any longer. If he lost, he owed Ritsuka an entire pillowcase worth of peanut-butter-and-chocolate candy. That's what he got for not taking her seriously.

Roman looked at Fou and nodded. The mysterious, squirrelish creature pulled a card from the top deck and slid it over to Roman. With shaking, sweaty hands, Roman reached out for the card. How was he going to even get that much candy? Did it really need to be a whole pillowcase worth? Why a pillowcase exactly? Who taught this girl how to play blackjack? What would she do if he pulled out now? Roman grabbed the card, ready to flip it and seal his fate.

The room turned a bloody red, the entire room shook, and the air was filled with the scream of the emergency siren. For a moment, Roman was relieved until he realized what this meant. Something had gone horribly wrong.

' _Olga-Marie! Mashu!_ ' Roman was on his feet, ready to run out of the room when he felt something dragging on his leg. Ritsuka was clutched to his pants, shaking like a leaf with Fou resting atop her head, cooing softly to comfort the girl. Roman crouched down and pulled her hands from his pants, holding them tight. "Ritsuka, I need you to stay here while I go and check on everyone else."

"What was that noise? Was that an explosion? Are Papa and Ma-Chan okay?" Roman bit his lip. In most cases, he'd be honest with her about the situation, but he didn't need a scared child on his hands right now.

"No, that was just some thunder. The storms get bad up here sometimes and the thunder is really loud. I have to go see if it scared anyone else. I'm the doctor after all." Roman gave a weak smile while Ritsuka returned a disbelieving frown. She may have been a child but she wasn't stupid. "Look, Ritsuka, stay here, okay? I'll be back as soon as I can!"

Roman didn't let her say anything else as he ran out of the room. He needed to get to the Control Room. Smoke was filling the corridors which meant there was fire and that meant that the emergency water system hadn't turned on to quell the flames from the explosion. The only manual override was in there. He had to stop this quickly.

Roman was a man on a mission. He was so focused on this mission, he didn't notice the little girl chasing after him through the crimson lit hallways. He didn't notice when she lost him. He didn't notice when she took a right where he took a left and ended up in the middle of a fiery hell.

* * *

Mashu was going to die. That wasn't anything new, she knew she was going to die from the moment she was created. Everyone was going to die eventually, she just had the cold comfort of knowing when. Yet, it seemed fate had other plans for her. Life truly was full of unexpected things, like explosions and large blocks of rubble crushing your entire lower body.

She was thankful and remorseful when the screaming stopped. It had been like torture listening to the people who had gotten hid by the fire scream in pain as their bodies were burned. At least now, she could pass on peacefully. A morbid and horrible thought, especially when one of those screaming was definitely Mr. Fujimaru. Mashu hadn't been able to meet him before the first test of Rayshifting began and had hoped to see him afterward. It seemed like that was less than possible now.

' _Miss Ritsuka, I'm sorry. I told you I was coming back but it looks like I won't be able to see you again. I'm so sorry about your father. Roman, please keep Miss Ritsuka safe and far away from here.'_ Mashu closed her eyes, ready for death to take her.

"Ma-chan!"

"Kyuu!"

Her eyes snapped open, revealing Ritsuka and Fou standing over her. Tears ran down the girl's face as she looked frantically from the pool of blood to the stone to Mashu. Fire roared all around her and smoke filled the chamber. Chaldeas glowed with an malicious orange heat, foretelling the future, or lack thereof, for mankind. The roar of flames went off around them and more rubble was falling, cashing against the ground with cacophonous booms.

"M-Ma-chan, are you okay?"

"Miss Ritsuka….you need to run away. This place...is dangerous...go back to ...he'll keep you safe." Mashu struggled to get words out as blood filled her lungs and drowned her from within.

"Ma-chan, can you move?"

"...run…" Tears and smoke burned Mashu's eyes. She wished she could tell Ritsuka it was all okay, to comfort the girl and take the sad tremble out of her voice, but this was all she could manage. Trying to keep her alive and hope she'd be okay. _'Where's Roman?'_

"Ma-chan...where's Papa?"

" **SYSTEM SWITCHING TO FINAL PHASE OF RAYSHIFT. COORDINATES, AD 2004, JANUARY 30th, FUYUKI, JAPAN."** The computer blared the announcement over the loudspeaker. The doors to the Chaldeas chamber began to hiss and grind to a close. Mashu tried to tell Ritsuka to run but her words were lost. The little girl whirled around, eyes filled with fear and uncertainty.

" **LAPLACE'S SHIFTING PROTECTION AVAILABLE. SINGULARITY'S ADDITIONAL FACTOR SLOT SECURED. UNSUMMON PROGRAM SET. PLEASE MAKE FINAL ADJUSTMENTS."** Tearful amber eyes gaped down at Mashu, who smiled and mouthed 'Run'. Ritsuka stood up, Fou on her shoulder, and began pushing against the rock on top of Mashu.

' _No. Run. Please.'_

" **CENTRAL AREA SEALED. 90 SECONDS UNTIL INTERNAL CONTAINMENT PROCEDURE."** The doors were sealed. There was no way out. Ritsuka kept pushing, screaming and pushing with all her might. Tears poured from her eyes. Mashu closed her eyes and begged.

' _Please save her. Someone, please.'_

" **COFFIN VITALS: MASTERS BASELINE NOT REACHED. RAYSHIFT REQUIREMENT NOT MET. SEARCHING FOR QUALIFYING MASTER...FOUND. UNREGISTERED CANDIDATE RESET AS MASTER."** The back of Ritsuka's hand burned. She kept pushing. Fou whimpered atop her head, curling into his tail.

" **UNSUMMON PROGRAM, START. SPIRITRON CONVERSION, START."** A halo of light surrounded Ritsuka and Mashu. Ritsuka lost what little strength she had, falling to the ground next to Mashu. She curled up into a ball and began to cry as warm arms wrapped around her.

' _It's okay, Ritsuka. I'm here."_

" **RAYSHIFT STARTING IN 3...2...1. ALL PROCEDURES CLEAR. FIRST ORDER, COMMENCING OPERATION."** Mashu held the child to her chest as the life began to fade from her body and the Rayshift began. This was the end for her. She hoped that wherever it went, the Rayshift would take Ritsuka somewhere safe, but she doubted it and it broke her heart. That sweet little girl, lost and alone in some battlefield, unable to protect herself and no one else there to protect her. It wasn't right. She needed someone to protect her, somebody, anybody!

"You have the heart of a knight, Mashu Kyrielight."

And the world was darkness.


	2. Decisions

**Decisions**

' _Take my power and save her, protect her, and end the evil that corrupts this world.'_

Mashu gasped to life, taking her first breath. She rose up and the first thing she saw was the last thing she saw, fire. It was everywhere, spreading through the ruins of buildings and streets, lining them like lampposts. However, this was not the new, raging fire that had consumed the Rayshift Chamber in Chaldea. This fire was old. It had been burning for years and saw no end in sight. No longer did it run forth consuming everything in its path. Everything was already consumed, all it did now was wallow in its own mess.

"What is this place?" Mashu whispered. She pushed herself off the ground, surveying the land, only finding destroyed buildings going out as far as the eye could see. This entire city had been reduced to a skeleton of itself. Her heel clicked as Mashu stepped forward. Wait, since when was she wearing heels? And why did she feel the wind on her stomach? "What in the.."

It hit her in a flash. She had been dying. The Rayshifting was starting. Ritsuka was crying in her arms. The Servant appeared and he offered her his powers. She accepted and they...combined. She took his power from him and became a Servant-Human hybrid. A Demi-Servant. This armor was his armor, now her armor changed to fit her body, though, it was a bit more revealing than she would've wanted. His strength was her strength, filling her body with energy she never had before and strength beyond her previous imagination. His shield…

She held up her arm and it came in a flurry of sparks. A black cross, ornate in design with silver flames marking the cleaved ends and jewels embedded into them, pressed over a circular wooden shield with a line of runes carved over the front and twelve circles around the face. The leather grip wrapped her forearm, locked tight. The shield was massive yet Mashu was able to lift it with one arm. She gave it a test swing, crushing a slab of concrete into dust. ' _This is the power of a Servant...amazing.'_

Mashu was a Servant now, at least partially. If so, then where was her Master?

"HELP!"

There was not a moment of hesitation. Mashu leapt from the spot, soaring into the air and scanning for the source of the cry that pulled at her very soul. That could only mean one thing. ' _There!'_

Ritsuka ran through the street, clambering over hunks of concrete with Fou in her arms, screaming with tears running down her face. Behind her were two moving skeletons, draped in red cloth and carrying rusted blades, they screeched with glee as they chased the little girl. Stepping on a loose stone, Ritsuka tripped and tumbled to the ground. That mistake let the skeletons catch up with her. They raised their swords in the air. Fou cried out as Ritsuka curled around him and screamed.

The lead skeleton was shattered into dust. The second one soon followed, his bones broken and scattered across the street before fading into golden sparks.

Mashu experienced another new emotion. Rage. Like a flooded dam, it filled her up and exploded outwards as she destroyed the monsters as easily as crushing an ant. The rush was exhilarating but disappeared as quickly as it came as Mashu was tackled from behind.

"Ma-chan!" Ritsuka held her in a death grip, pressing her face into the cold armor. "You're okay! I thought you were..were...but you're okay! What happened? Where are we? What were those skeleton things? Ma-chan, I'm scared. What's-"

"Ssh~" Mashu quieted the girl, bringing. She gently stroked the girl's back while she sniffled weakly. Fou purred between them, nuzzling into Mashu's chest as well. The cross-shield covered them, giving them their own space away from the hellscape of the city. They were safe. Everything was okay, in those few moments.

"It's okay. I don't know where we are, but I'll protect you, so don't be scared, Master." Mashu said. The red Command Seals of Chaldea on Ritsuka's hand glowed in the firelight, linking her and Mashu together for the foreseeable future.

It took a few minutes for Ritsuka to calm down. Mashu picked her up in one arm, easy now that she had the strength of a Servant. Fou nestled in the little girl's arms. "Master, we need to find somewhere safe to hide for now and try to contact Chaldea. Hold onto me tight, okay?" Ritsuka nodded and tightened her grip on Mashu's arm before she leapt into the air in search of sanctuary.

* * *

It was a while before Mashu found the sanctuary she was hoping for as she found something of even greater importance along the way. Another survivor.

"I can't believe this! Years of work and preparing and it all goes under in seconds, and now all we have to show for it is some child!" Unfortunately, their fellow survivor was not a happy camper. Director Olga-Marie Animusphere hadn't stopped complaining since they met her, grouching all the way to the semi-stable parking garage that stood over a Leyline and acted as their base camp for now. Meanwhile, after a few battles with more skeletons, Ritsuka had nodded off, sleeping in Mashu's lap with Fou as a teddy bear once more.

"Director, if you could be a little quieter. Master is trying to sleep." Olga-Marie rounded to yell at Mashu, only to be cowed by a glare so sharp, she'd almost mistaken her for a Saber-class Servant. "Thank you." Anger faded from her face, replaced by a serene gentleness as she stroked the little Master's head and hummed.

Olga-Marie sighed. "Sorry, this is just...hard to take in. All the work I've put in towards Chaldea...all the work my father did...ruined. The Masters, our technicians, Leff...Mashu, are you sure that Chaldeas had turned red before you left?"

"Yes, ma'am. The entire thing was glowing red like a miniature sun and the computer said something about humanity's survival not being detected 100 years into the future." The veins in Olga-Marie's head looked ready to pop. "After that, she came in and then we were sent here, Singularity F."

Olga took a deep breath and continued, "Before, that you said that you saw someone, a Servant, the one that fused with you?"

"Yes. I couldn't get a good look at him, there was a lot of smoke and I was dying. The Rayshift was beginning when he appeared out of nowhere and offered to help me. Fusing with him seems to be what saved me from death." Mashu explained.

"And you became the sixth experiment of Chaldea, the Demi-Servant. Of all the times for it to finally succeed when all others are failing. Did the Servant say anything to you before you fused completely? Can you still hear him in your mind?"

"No, he only gave me his combat abilities and disappeared. As for what he said, he just told me to protect her." They both looked at the sleeping child, Olga grimacing slightly.

"A child. Perfect. Our only hope of getting out of here and fixing this mess, taking a nap like a toddler."

"She's done well so far." Mashu snapped back quickly. Ritsuka had done better than any child would in these situations. She had cried a single tear ever since Mashu saved her and showed no fear in the ace of the skeletons the seemed to populate this city. She wasn't giving orders or anything else to be expected of a Master, but she didn't need to. Mashu was performing well without them. "All that fighting probably drained her energy."

Olga scoffed. Out of nowhere, a blue phantom came to life in the middle of the room, a phantom that looked a lot like a certain happy-go-lucky doctor, though he was looking much less happy than usual.

"Roman," Olga stepped in front of the image, "what is the status of the facility?"

Roman had been able to establish a connection to the stranded Chaldeans a few hours ago, speaking from the damaged Control Room. He had been more than a little surprised to find out Mashu had become a Demi-Servant and even more so when he found out who her Master was. He couldn't help but feel a little responsible for the situation and it showed from the dark circles under his eyes.

"Most of the systems are coming back online. I had to restart the generator and redirect power from non-essential systems, so it's a bit chilly on this end, but the fire is out and Shiva seems to have stabilized. I have a few of the surviving staff scavenging through the wreckage, while more are working on bringing the rest of our systems back online. So far, SHIVA and FATE are all we have."

"Are there any signs of survivors?" There was a pause before Roman shook his head solemnly. Olga's lips tightened and Mashu pulled Ritsuka a little closer.

"All technicians in the control room were killed by the fire almost instantly. Many of the Masters were as well, though a few survived for a while until the smoke inhalation killed them inside of the Coffins. The seals were broken in the explosion. Including myself and you three, only 34 members of Chaldea survived."

"Is there any sign of Professor Lynor?" Roman shook his head again and Olga let out a somewhat pained sigh. She took a moment to collect herself before returning to her usual authoritarian persona.

"Focus on repairing the Rayshift. That is your number one priority. We will continue to investigate this city, Singularity F, until then."

"Director, are you sure that's a good idea? You don't do well in scary situations like that."

"You're talking a bit too much, Roman. Don't let that temporary power go to your head." Olga scolded the doctor, giving him a sense of relief. Old routines always healed new wounds, at least a little bit. "Our only objective is to investigate the source of the Singularity. Mashu and the child aren't fit for anything else with no prior training. We'll only take on minimal threats. After all this is done, we'll send in a second team to eliminate the source of the aberration."

Mashu decided she should speak up now. "Director, is that a good idea? Even if I can defeat the skeletons in this Singularity, isn't it best if we stay and wait until the Rayshift is fixed?"

"We can't do that! Even when we get out of here, it'll take months to get everything repaired and to assemble a new team to eliminate the Singularity. By then, the Association will have deemed this a failure and shut it down. I will not allow that to happen!"

"But what about Miss Ritsuka?" Olga stepped back, surprised that Mashu would talk back to her. "This situation is much too dangerous for her to be in, even if I am with her. It's better for her if we stay safe and go back when the Rayshift is fixed."

"This isn't about her! This is about the future of humanity! She may be a child, but she is the only thing keeping this from being a complete catastrophe."

"I am not going to endanger her more! That Servant gave me these powers to protect her!" Mashu forced herself to stay on the ground but glared a hole through Olga-Marie. "She already lost her father, I'm not letting her get hurt anymore!"

There was nothing to that. Roman looked at the two women frantically, scared by this unfamiliar situation. ' _Why is Mashu acting like this? She's never talked back to anyone in her life! She cares about Ritsuka that much?'_ It was a dumb question for Roman to ask. He felt the exact same way.

"When do we tell her about her father?"

The question hung in the air, weighing it down with bone-crushing tension. All eyes were on the sleeping girl. Though she slept so soundly, so much weight rested on her shoulders, more weight than a child should bear.

"We don't." The Director's answer was simple and clean. "If we tell her, then the likelihood of us surviving until the Rayshift is fixed will drop even lower than it is now. She is your Master, Mashu, meaning you two are linked, and if she is upset over her father, then you'll be in no condition to protect anyone."

Mashu clenched her teeth. The idea sickened her to her core, a complete betrayal of trust between her and her Master, but it made sense. She already felt their shared fatigue fading as Ritsuka slept. If Ritsuka were to be depressed or distraught over her father….

"I will tell her about her father when we get back to Chaldea. As Director, I have full responsibility for whatever happens to my subordinates. Should anything severe happen I am also responsible for informing their next of kin."

"Olga, are you sure?"

Olga nodded and thusly, the decision was made. Roman and Mashu had their own reservations about this plan, but no other choice but to agree. It was the best option available, even if it did end terribly.

Alright then," Roman sighed, "I have to go now. SHIVA isn't fully repaired and there are still a few injured people around. I'll try and keep up with you and give you updates when I can. Good luck." The hologram disappeared, leaving the three girls alone in the half-lit parking garage.

"Now that is settled, we need to wake up the girl."

"Why?" Mashu asked defensively.

Olga sighed, "Because Mashu, like it or not, we need to move. Those monsters will track us down as they've been doing and they'll likely be in bigger, stronger groups that you can't fight against."

"If we move, they'll keep coming after us."

"And that is why I want her up. The FATE system is still working, meaning we can try and have her summon more Servants to help us hide."

"You just want to keep exploring the city for something you can use," Mashu said distastefully.

"Of course I do! But I can't go anywhere without you! I know you want to protect the girl, Mashu, and the only way to do that is to move. Besides, we need to bring something back for her sake as much as mine. If the Association takes Chaldea from me, do you really think they'll care as much about some girl from a no-name Magus family?" They all knew the answer to that. Magus were cold people by nature of their lifestyle. "She is a part of this now, whether we like it or not."

A moment of silence passed through the room as the two women locked eyes. The distant sound of crackling fire permeated the air along with the smoky coverage. Hours had passed, but the sky was dark as night, filled with black clouds lit red by the fire below.

"Master," Mashu whispered into the girl's ear, "it's time to wake up." As easily as flipping a switch, Ritsuka opened her eyes, yawning as she woke up in Mashu's lap. Fou mimicked his new friend, letting out a soft mew.

"Ma-chan? Miss Olga? What's going on?" Mashu stood up, taking the girl with her, carrying her like a toddler. Fou bounced out of her arm and onto Mashu's shoulder for safekeeping. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Not quite yet. We need to do something first. Mashu, summon your shield and place it on the ground like before. I'll set up a summoning circle." Mashu did as she was told, placing her shield in the center of the room. Olga-Marie took out a brush and a well of ink from her jacket and got to work.

"Ma-chan, what is she doing?"

"She's making a summoning circle so we can summon some more Servants to help us get out of here." Ritsuka looked at her curiously.

"Servants?" She had only heard that word in passing from her father before he had taken the job to come here, whenever he was talking on the phone with the person who got it for him.

"Oh, well, a Servant is a spirit that can be summoned from the Throne of Heroes. They're usually famous warriors and figures from history, capable of things not even modern Magus would dream of doing. With the summoning circle, you can summon them from the Throne to help us." Ritsuka's mouth formed an 'o', trying to process all that information.

"So..they're like you?"

"Um, sort of. I'm a Demi-Servant since I'm still alive. I'm not as powerful as they'll probably be because they can use their Noble Phantasms; a special skill or attack they have that goes along with their legend. They also have proper classes; Archer, Saber, Lancer, Caster, Rider, Assassin, and Berserker, while my Shielder-class is an anomaly. That means strange." Mashu added, seeing the question forming in her eyes.

"Done." In no time flat, the entire summoning circle was finished, a four-pointed star inside of a circle with the points going the opposite ways of the shield. "Fujimaru, come here."

Mashu slowly put the girl down, keeping an eye on her as she walked over the Olga-Marie. The two knelt down in front of the shield as the circle began to glow alongside Ritsuka's Command Seals.

"Alright, Fujimaru, I'm going to explain this as simple as possible and I need you to keep up, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. Now, this is very simple for you to do. All you have to do is add a little bit of your own mana to the circle. The FATE system should take care of the rest. As long as you have Chaldean Command Seals, you'll be connected to the system. That will open up the bank of Saint Quartz we have gathered."

"What's that?"

"Don't interrupt me." Olga snapped. "I asked you to listen, not speak. Though, to answer your question, a Saint Quartz is a crystallized form of mana. A rock made of mana, to put it simply, that we use to fuel the summoning. We currently only have 60 of them gathered and we'll need half of that for our summoning as we will be doing a Mass Summoning. That will hopefully draw out a Servant or two for us if we're lucky. Otherwise, we'll only get Crafting Essence. Those are little things that make Servants stronger." Olga cut off the question before it could be asked. She was honestly surprised there weren't more. Seemed this girl was smarter than she had hoped.

Mashu was also impressed by Olga-Marie. She was still sharp-tongued as usual, but there was a certain gentleness to her scolding, like a teacher to their student.

"Are you ready?" Ritsuka gave her a thumbs-up, making Olga smile. "Then get to it."

With that, Ritsuka turned her attention to the circle. She closed her eyes and focused on her hands, drawing mana to her palms. She clapped her hands together as if to pray. Magecraft was a miracle, that's what her father always taught her. It made people greater than human, made them Magus and allowed them to perform miracles. Before these miracles, you must give thanks to the Earth and the Gods for blessing you with this gift.

' _And so I pray.'_

The summoning circle burst to life with a touch of Ritsuka's hand. A ball of sparking mana formed over the center with rings spinning around it. The ball grew larger and the ring shot away, splitting into three. A flash of rainbow light passed over before the ball exploded into a pillar of light that filled the room, forcing them to look away.

As the light faded, a figure covered in glimmering gold light stepped forward. It was a girl, beautiful and dainty as a flower, draped in a cream-colored dress with black accents, adding to her beauty. She embodied the ideals of a princess. Golden blonde hair, perfect pearl skin, emerald eyes. Even the armor she wore did not mar her image, only adding to her beauty. In her hand, she held a sword that matched her in beauty, glowing with a divine golden halo.

She looked around the room for a moment before seeing Olga. She curtsied perfectly and spoke softly, "Pleased to meet you, Master. I'm still a novice with the sword, so you can call me Saber Lily. I look forward to adventuring with you for many years to come."

Olga blushed nervously, looking at Mashu and Ritsuka for help. Luckily, Ritsuka came to the Director's aid, tugging on the so-called Saber Lily's skirt, catching her attention.

"Excuse me, Miss Lily, Miss Director isn't your Master." Ritsuka showed her the Command Seals. "I'm your Master. My name is Fujimaru Ritsuka, nice to meet you."

Lily blinked. She blinked again. She looked at Mashu and Olga, trying to determine if this was a joke. They both looked dead serious. She looked over her knowledge from the Throne and found that she was indeed connected to this little girl. The little girl was her Master.

"Master!" Lily bowed down before the girl, prostrating on the floor, "I'm so sorry for not recognizing you! Please forgive me for my foolishness."

"It's okay, Miss Lily. Everyone makes mistakes." Lily looked up, blushing as her Master patted her on the head. The Saber regained her composure and stood, towering over her little Master. She pulled her sword from its sheath and bowed.

"Thank you for forgiving me, Master. I promise that I will do my best not to fail you from here on, and please, call me Artoria. I am not worthy of a title."

"Mmmm, okay, Lily! It's nice to meet you!" Ritsuka ran into Lily and hugged her around the waist, making the young Saber blush more before returning the sign of affection. Mashu hid a giggle behind her hand while Olga smirked.

"Alright, alright, that's enough for now," Olga said, "we need to get through the rest of the summonings. We can do proper introductions later. Ritsuka, get to it." The little girl saluted and went back to the circle while Lily moved to stand by Mashu.

Mashu leaned over and whispered, "Welcome to the group, Miss Artoria."

"Thank you." Lily's eyes didn't leave Ritsuka as she crouched by the circle. "When I was summoned, I knew things would be unusual, but not this unusual. I didn't expect my Master to be so.."

"Cute?" Mashu supplied, to which Lily agreed to wholeheartedly. "None of us were expecting this, but we're all doing our best to deal with it. Don't let her age trick you. Master is very brave and very strong. Stronger than anyone I've ever met."

* * *

 **Fyr3Flyt3: I would like to preface this Author's Note with thanks to the 500 plus people who have read this story and the nine people who review the first chapter. It's great to see a new story get so much support already which fueled me to go ahead and make the second chapter before the week was out The next one probably won't be out for another two weeks because of other projects.**

 **Speaking of reviews, I'm going to go ahead and say this. Rin and Shirou will NOT be Ritsuka's parents. I don't care what fan theories or headcanons there are about it, I have no plans of changing something I already established to fit into them. I don't have a problem with the idea. It's cute and fun to see in art, however, it's not what I want to do. having Rin/Ishtar and Emiya/Archer as her parents immediately brings them to the forefront of the story, head-and-shoulders above the rest of the Servants. I don't want that. I want each of the Servants to have relationships with her that aren't immediately overshadowed by two others. Certain people will be more important to her and the story as people are in anyone's life, but I want that to be determined naturally. Sorry to disappoint anyone, but that won't be changing. Archer and Ishtar will interact with her, but not as her parents officially. **


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